An opportunity to agree with Mel Kiper

There was seemingly no amount of emnity left unused by Dolphins fans for Mel Kiper when the ESPN draft guru said and insisted the Dolphins made a mistake in picking Jake Long over Matt Ryan in 2008.

So if you are a Kiper hater, you are officially excused if you -- because this post is about the loquacious man with the helmet hair.

Kiper published his first mock draft of 2010 on Wednesday and, drum roll please, he's got Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain going to the Fins at No. 12 in the first round

"A potential home run for Miami, a team that needs an inside linebacker and could get the best one in the whole draft after the top 10," Kiper writes. "The Dolphins also could go after Dez Bryant if he were to fall to them here, because they also must address WR."

Yeah Mel, they also must address NT and OLB and maybe FS. They also will need to find help at TE and maybe RB, but that might come later in the draft.

Kiper has Bryant going to the Denver Broncos at No. 11 and rationalizes their need because he believes Brandon Marshall will be traded and the team will see the need as being too important. I happen to disagree with Kiper on this.

He forgets that Marshall was not a first round pick and neither was Eddie Royal and expert personnel departments can these days identify outstanding receivers in the second and third rounds. They call them value picks. So I wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos do not pick Bryant so high.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the Broncos do pick C.J. Spiller of Clemson because he's as much a home run threat as Bryant -- albeit in a different way -- and his intangibles and character blows Bryant out of the water.

I'm told the Dolphins are similarly impressed by Spiller and Bill Parcells especially likes him because he played a whopping 52 games in college and is quick as a lightning bolt.

I would submit to you that faced with having both McClain and Spiller on the board when they pick, the Dolphins (Parcells) would likely go with the elite defender at a position of need over the elite offensive playmaker that seems more like a luxury.

But that's just a guess based on The Big Tuna's history. He hasn't called lately to give me his draft strategy.

Meanwhile, has Dolphins' nation finally found common ground with Mel Kiper?